Investigations such as those that Cane leads provide new details about the extent to which wild bees can help with pollination. Such help is especially needed in view of the ongoing problems faced by the nation’s premier pollinator, the European honey bee, Apis mellifera. Honey bees’ current troubles include the puzzling phenomenon known as colony collapse disorder.

Cane has shown, for the first time, that male Peponapis pruinosa play a surprisingly significant role in pollinating the blossoms of yellow summer squash. In the past, less than 10 percent of pollination has been attributed to male bees.

With both male and female bees on the job, fewer bees overall would be needed, according to Cane. That’s a plus for growers and beekeepers because it suggests that increasingly scarce, in-demand hives of honey bees could be freed up for work elsewhere.

Simple lust may explain the male squash bee's role in pollinating blooms. Unlike male bees that mainly hunt for females at nest sites, P. pruinosa males seek their mates at flowers. As they fly from one blossom to the next, the bees inadvertently carry grains of pollen--trapped in tiny hairs on their bodies--with them, thus helping ensure that plants have the needed pollen.

ARS is a scientific research agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.